PR Interns: True Tales from the Workplace
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A few weeks ago I asked current public relations interns to share their “tales from the workplace” with the expectation they would remain anonymous. I asked for them to share good, the bad and the ugly.
I was flooded with responses.
There were many stories of good experiences and even more with “the bad” and “the ugly.” I made a choice to share three examples of “internships gone wrong.”
Why? This summer I plan to share Sevans Strategy’s experience with our interns, from developing a “Standards of Teamwork” agreement to mistakes to amazing learning opportunities. I realized through this call for submissions not all interns have an opportunity to share their experience publicly, nor do all have a voice of support at the companies they currently represent.
This post is meant as a reminder to treat not only interns, but all employees, as a valued part of your team. If making the coffee IS part of the job requirement, don’t forget to tell them how great it tastes every once in a while.
Please don’t let one of your interns experience this when working with you and your team.
***If after reading you have advice for one (or more) of the anonymous interns, feel free to leave it in the comments section. All three have been made aware their post was used and will be checking the comment feed.***
#1: The True Cost of Success?
The ugly: I spent 3,180 dollars on housing, 600 dollars on airfare, no idea how much on food/entertainment, 810 dollars to put “internship” on my transcript, and I am an unpaid full-time intern for 3 months.
The good: I get to put an amazing company on my resume. I am learning great techniques for media relations and I have met a lot of executives. I sit in on a lot of meetings and I take a lot of notes about the broadcasting/cable networking world.
#2: Real Life “The Devil Loves Prada”
“Currently, I am an intern a boutique PR firm that represents luxury brands. As a recent college graduate (I graduated in May) I was really excited to land such an internship, due to the fact that this agency promised that its interns would get to do hands-on work and wouldn’t be relegated to just making copies and getting the office coffee. Although I have gotten to work with Cision, pitch ideas, and even attended a press event, two of the account managers have been absolutely horrid to work for!”
“…She is noticeably nasty to us, and is incredibly condescending in the tasks she gives us (nothing like being the only intern in the office who is noticeably busy and yet is sent to run around Manhattan in 100+ degree weather while the younger interns just sit and enjoy the AC!)”
“…is a demanding, patronizing, and outright mean person who had no real interest in teaching the interns about the PR industry. Instead, interns were sent to her apartment to retrieve her mail and a pair of her shoes! She didn’t even train the interns on her first day- she relegated [sic] that task to an intern who hadn’t even been working for that long and didn’t know enough to train the rest of us! This of course led to our entire group getting yelled at for not knowing things that we had never been trained to do, among other things.”
#3 – Quit Playing Games With My Heart
“The downside of working in a start-up environment was also that I was never formally trained on anything! I would have to figure out everything on my own or through a fellow intern. I also never really received any feedback, an internship is a learning experience and although I learned A LOT about PR on the client side and start-up environment during my 3 months at <name withheld> I wish I could have been told some positive things I was doing and some negative. Also I was told that there would be an opportunity for a full-time position after my internship were over. When I was offered an internship at <name withheld>, I asked where I stood at <name withheld> and they told me that they were looking for someone with more experience (2-3 years). This left a bad taste in my mouth, if they had decided to change directions I would have liked to know, luckily I have an equally if not better opportunity to intern at <name withheld>.”
12 Comments on this post
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Kairi said:
WOW! That is probably the worst possible scenario of being an intern (and as I hear, this happens a lot in large firms). Luckily I am interning for the best PR consultancy ever! And my boss is the most understanding, eager to share and teach – as well as learn! Couldn’t ask for a better internship <3
July 14th, 2010 at 9:25 pm -
Excel Tutorials said:
I live in the Bay Area, but I have visited Seattle many times and I’ll never forget the first time I visited the market. It was my first visit to Seattle so I asked someone what I should see.
July 14th, 2010 at 10:10 pm -
Soyini said:
I’m an intern with a boutique PR Agency in London, and I’m pleased to say that I’m loving the experience.
I’m from Trinidad & Tobago, where we don’t have an intern culture. You apply for an entry-level job and you get paid for your work. I prefer that system because I think it’s way more honest.
That being said, my boss is amazing. It’s small agency so it’s pretty hands-on. And she manages to take charge of the process without hovering or stifling so I able to contribute fully to the business.
But I know my experience isn’t typical.
July 15th, 2010 at 8:42 am -
Anonymous said:
It’s sad to see that horrible internship experiences in the PR industry are far too common.
I too was an intern about a year at a very prestigious agency from the Northeast opening a new office in South Florida. At the time I was a happy PAID intern getting to work on major business development projects for worldwide clients. However, when I was originally hired it was understood that I would only work there for two months.
After one month, another agency approached me offering me a full-time position as a Jr. Account Executive. I spoke about the potential job offer with my current internship at the time and explained to my supervisor (managing director) that I would love to stay but I know that in a month I won’t be there anymore. As soon as I told her that, my supervisor went into a full rage and started slamming and throwing things across the room.
Needless to say, I resigned. A couple of weeks later, I found out my previous supervisor was bad mouthing me among other PRSA chapter members regardless of the fact that I went above and beyond during my time at the internship and landed accounts.
Maybe I’m in the wrong. I would love your feedback and suggestions on dealing with this situation.
July 15th, 2010 at 12:11 pm -
David Reich said:
Unfortunately, from what I’ve seen, too many PR internships are not real learning experiences. Some of the larger p.r. agencies have real internship programs where interns are truly taught and get a wide variety of hands-on experience.
But many agencies see interns a free help to do the grunt work. Yes, they get a name to put on the resume, but what they often learn is how NOT to treat people.
The few times I’ve hired interns, I’ve always given them some money — even if it’s just $20/day — to help cover their transportation and lunch. Also, if an intern is getting some money, no matter how small the amount, bosses won’t be so quick to give them irrelevant chores like picking up shoes or dry cleaning.
July 15th, 2010 at 12:58 pm -
sell textbooks said:
I had a pretty bad experience when i was an intern too. It seems no matter who or where you intern you are kind of thrown to the wolves, and not taught much. But if you are resourceful you can learn how to work around it and be better for it.
July 15th, 2010 at 2:39 pm -
AG said:
I think an intern is an opportunity for both ways.
The company needs to be responsible in guiding and nurturing the interns, from the welcoming, the package, the job description, task and responsibility.
The intern needs to be pro-active like a hungry wolf asking for questions, poking, remember there are no stupid questions as you are still an intern.
July 15th, 2010 at 11:21 pm -
Taylor said:
Wow – the unpaid intern made me cringe. I never had to submit myself to the unpaid internship – thankfully. I now wonder, can you blame those that don’t settle for an unpaid position? It’s tough, and for some young professionals it’s just not possible in today’s economy to support themselves without a pay check – all for the sake of getting a fabulous season of experience.
My company posted our need for an internship via twitter and one of the first responses was from a girl saying – “Is it paid?” Now – I personally don’t think this is a great first inquiry – but really – can you blame her??
Great post Sarah!
July 16th, 2010 at 10:19 pm -
tires said:
In the first story, in the short run your wallet is certainly going to feel it, but I strongly believe that sometimes in the long run, doing things like that will pay off, while the pain may be now in terms of the financial side, in the long run it should pay big dividends!
Till then,
Jean
July 18th, 2010 at 1:38 am -
Immigration Guy said:
Were those comments after the internship was finished? I’m surprised that some interns would be so open on negativity towards the firm they are currently working at.
July 18th, 2010 at 3:32 am -
car battery said:
Well, the second part of that is really sad to read, but true for many cases. As for the unpaid internship, wow, I don’t think I’d be up for that. No matter how big the possible long term benefits of it, the short term risks would be too much to handle. It’s definitely a balancing act and a struggle no matter which route you take.
July 18th, 2010 at 10:04 am
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